Sydney Blue Sox agree to split-host Australian Baseball League playoff series with Canberra Cavalry

Mon 27 Jan 2014, 3:49 PM AEDT

The Canberra Cavalry have been handed an unlikely gift from its Australian Baseball League rivals the Sydney Blue Sox.

The two sides have agreed to split-host their three-game preliminary finals series for the first time in ABL history.

Sydney had been due to host all three matches at Blacktown International Sportspark, a home-ground advantage usually reserved for the team that finishes the regular season second on the ladder.

Instead, third-placed Canberra will host the opening game at Narrabundah on Friday night before both teams travel to Sydney for games two and three.

It's understood the idea had been mooted long before the final playoff berths were decided last weekend in a bid to bring the ABL's post-season in line with that of the split-host arrangement of America's Major League Baseball.

The winner will travel west to face two-time ABL champions Perth Heat in the three-game ABL championship series the following week.